House Passes Bill to Legalize Crude Oil Exports

Yesterday, the House passed a hugely important bill that has not received much media attention. In a bipartisan manner, yes that means both Republicans and Democrats, H.R. 702 made its way over to the Senate. This bill will make crude oil exports legal. While there has been much oil production in the United States, it has been illegal since 1975 to export this good abroad. Many pro-oil lobbyists and businessmen have been pressuring Congress to revoke the 1975 ban.

This seems like an obvious bill to pass, which is why it passed 261-159 in the House. The bill is proposed to generate 1.4 billion dollars over the next 10 year while also lowering oil prices for everyday Americans.

The Obama administration, of course, has threatened to veto the bill, and wants the Secretary of Commerce to make the decision.

This is huge news for the American economy. As the US has been so dependent on foreign oil, as well as not able a profit from oil produced domestically and shipped abroad, this is good news for both the oil companies, their workers, and those who use oil products. More oil on the market will decrease the prices, but its sale will keep oil companies from completely going under.

Because this is not a dramatic piece of news, many Americans will more than likely not know the House passed the bill. Many people also do not know that crude oil exports is illegal in the US, and now the bill is trying to revoke that law. As the economy remains relatively stagnant, this is good news for the whole country.

There has been a movement to let the energy boom in America truly reach its full potential, and this bill is a step forward in that direction.